There is a continuing interest in the safe containment of liquids, particularly gasoline and other fuels, because of the vast amount of fuel presently stored throughout the country. It has become increasingly apparent that underground storage tanks can and do leak, thus causing serious short-term and long-term problems. Therefore, many localities have chosen to examine all underground tanks, mostly fuel storage tanks, to determine if the tanks are leaking. It is an expensive process to inspect the tanks and test the earth surrounding the tanks for indications of leakage. Repair or replacement of tanks which are shown to be leaking increases the cost a great deal further.
Other liquids, in addition to fuels, create containment problems as well. Many liquids used in industry are hazardous from an environmental standpoint, from a safety standpoint, or both. Often these liquids are not suitable for storing in steel containers because of their corrosive or reactive properties. Although stainless steel can be used for certain chemicals, the use of large stainless steel tanks can be very expensive. Also, some chemicals are not suitable for storage in stainless steel tanks as well.
Many chemicals are now being stored in plastic and other non-metallic tanks. One such tank is made of cross-linked polyethylene, an environmentally stable material, by Poly Cal Plastics, Inc. of French Camp, Calif. as ZORB TANKS. However, even if such non-metallic tanks are chemically suitable for many types of chemicals, they are still susceptible to damage from extreme heat and fire, as well as physical damage which could create leaks.
To aid the detection and prevention of leaks, double wall (dual containment) tanks have been used for both underground and above ground storage. The space between the two walls of the tanks is monitored for leakage. When used underground, monitors can be used to sense both water seepage in and stored liquid seepage out. If a leak is detected, the tank can be drained and abandoned, dug up and removed, or repaired in place. These options are all quite expensive. If the contaminated soil surrounding the leaking tank must be removed, the expense increases dramatically. However, conventional double wall tanks are quite expensive and are not presently able to meet fire code standards for above-ground storage of flammable liquids. Therefore, even when dual containment tanks are used, flammable liquid is most often stored in below-ground tanks.
Creating a concrete encased hollow tank is not without problems. One conventional method of doing so, described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 936,205 mentioned above, is to form an open-top hollow shell, place the tank within the hollow shell and then pour the top. However, this process creates cold joints which are possible sources of leaks and weak points in the structure. Therefore, a homogenous concrete shell, which would eliminate cold joints, would be preferable. Entombing a hollow tank in fluid concrete is hindered, if not prevented, by the fact that the hollow tank has a tendency to bob up or float within the fluid concrete. Although the tank could be filled with water to give it neutral buoyancy, this solution causes other problems, including difficulties arising from trying to remove all the water from the tank after the concrete has set.